The Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the voice of business in Tasmania and is raising the alarm on the appalling state of Tasmania’s finances.

 

TCCI CEO, Michael Bailey, said the latest budget update was so bad the Government snuck it out late on a Friday in the hope that no one would notice the sea of red ink it contained.

 

“This is the next Government disaster in the making,” Mr Bailey said.

 

“This isn’t the sort of problem that will go away if you ignore it, it will only get worse the longer you leave it.

 

“The first step towards fixing a problem, is admitting it.  Unfortunately, the Government is in denial about the mess that its finances are in.  The Government should make reining in spending its New Year’s resolution.  

 

“The major problem is the massive blowout in the size of the bureaucracy.  Over the ten years of this Liberal Government, the number of bureaucrats has grown by 30 per cent.  The worst culprit is the Premier’s own department.  Since 2013-14, the number of people in the Department of Premier and Cabinet has doubled from 337 to 662, which is unsustainable.

 

“If the Government isn’t prepared to face facts and deal with this challenge then it will have a damaging impact on business confidence.

 

“Just because the bureaucracy is bigger it doesn’t mean that services are better and in some cases the opposite is true.  The frustrating thing is, if the Government was prepared to reach out to the local business community we could work together to deliver essential services more efficiently by leveraging the skills and expertise in the private sector.

 

“Labor also needs to outline how it would reduce spending if they want the business community to take them seriously as an alternative government.”